NDP leadership: Ashton's campaign focuses on equality

OTTAWA — Genuine, passionate, articulate and uninhibited, the youngest candidate in the race for leadership of the New Democratic Party has staked her bid on a rather retro theme — equality.

"Some people think equality, that's something we fought for in the '70s," said 29-year-old Niki Ashton.

"Well, I wasn't around in the '70s, and what I do know is when I look around, that inequality is not only there, but it's increasing."

The Manitoba native elected to Parliament for the first time in 2008 is campaigning on the idea of "new politics" and has unveiled a 10-point plan that aims to restore balance, both socially and economically.

She's appalled that women's issues in Canada are handled as a secondary duty by public works and has promised, if she became prime minister that, in her first 100 sitting days of Parliament, she would appoint a minister for equality to address that and other forms of discrimination, be it race or sexual orientation.

She's vowed to tackle the "Third World living conditions" faced by First Nations, and she supports a national housing strategy and improved pensions. She says she would exercise federal leadership to reduce tuition fees, increase bursaries and provide more training opportunities and that she would create a national childcare program as an "economic generator rather than just a social program" so parents can get out and work.

She says she'd work to stop the "erosion of collective bargaining rights" and would reach out to non-unionized workers, including the many young people who are "facing a life of contract or temporary work."

Ashton has fought to save the Canadian Wheat Board, is against foreign ownership that "doesn't benefit our communities" and has railed against it in her own province, which saw Brazilian mining giant Vale take over Canada's Inco only to shut down its Thompson smelter and refinery despite a $1-billion unsecured loan from the Conservative government.

She's promised to create a "national jobs and growth fund" that would reverse Conservative cuts to regional development programs and include a permanent infrastructure fund that would favour innovative and environmentally sustainable projects.

She's also promoting a move toward a greener economy through the enforcement of existing regulations and investments in innovative green technologies.

As prime minister, she says, she would address the growing "affordability gap" by rolling back Conservative corporate tax cuts and she'd consider a "Robin Hood Tax" on financial transactions to support anti-poverty and climate-change initiatives.

Chatting over coffee between bites of a chocolate chip cookie, her youthful charm is evident in everything from her pink BlackBerry skin, to her animal print stockings, to the words such as "whatchamacallit" she sometimes uses.

While pundits have argued she's a long-shot on account of her youth, she rejects the notion, noting Robert Bourassa was 36 when he first became premier of Quebec in 1970, while Ed Schreyer was 33 when he became premier in Manitoba in 1969, the same age she'll be at the time of the next election.

"I think perhaps we have to throw out some of the stereotypes that we have of what is a politician and what is a leader and engage in the idea of new politics, which is if you have the right ideas and you do the work to engage people, then you can go forward," she said. "Age and gender shouldn't be a barrier."

As for her plan for getting the NDP elected as the government in 2015, she says the party needs to focus on Quebec and the West. She launched her campaign in Montreal as "a sign of respect" for the province that elected an unprecedented 59 New Democrats in May and she says she's committed to making Quebec issues a priority.

She also believes the NDP has a good shot at reclaiming support in its birthplace of Saskatchewan, where the party has been shut out since 2004.

"I really challenge the Conservatives in the House when they talk about how they have the moral authority to speak on behalf of Western Canadians," she said.

"There's a lot of Western Canadians that didn't vote for them and the way they're acting there will be a lot more Western Canadians that won't vote for them."

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